Logos are dead. Long live logos.
Your logo probably sucks.
But it’s not your fault.
Here’s how to give it more meaning.
How they started
In the beginning, logos were created to mark the maker.
A symbol of quality.
A symbol of authenticity.
The oldest logo mark still in use?
Twinings Tea.
What it stands for
The logo is used to signify that the tea was from the founder.
Thomas Twining.
A mark of trust.
Customers knew that anything with his name on adhered to his standard.
And his standard was great.
This is why the brand’s logo mark has been relatively unchanged in over 200 years.
But times have changed since 1706.
And logos have changed too.
Not every company is named after its founder.
Thank god.
Logo marks have developed.
They are now arbitrary symbols with no meaning
That’s right.
On their own these marks have nothing.
Branding influence
Brands are created in the minds of consumers.
They are created by us.
We own the brand.
If we want it to change. It will.
If we don’t like it. It will die.
And because of this, the meaning that a logo mark holds is the meaning we give it.
The role of branding?
To suggest meaning.
How do we do this?
Brand strategy.
You want to give your logo more meaning.
Think about what values your company holds.
And more importantly how these values are translated into actions.
Actions speak louder than words.
Tell the customer the story behind the brand.
It’s a long process.
But doing this in every interaction your brand has with customers will build meaning into your logo mark.
In summary
For your logo to have more meaning you need to demonstrate the meaning you wish for it to have.
Every day.
Think – brand values
Think – brand story
Tom Berry
Brand strategist & Creative director at Studio Bennu
I help your business become a thriving brand that people love
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